We continue our sermon series in the Old Testament book of Genesis today, looking at the first 15 verses of Genesis chapter 18. And this is that account of the Lord and two angels appearing to Abraham and Sarah with the announcement that she herself will have a child and be part of that promised blessing coming through Abraham and his offspring to bless the whole world. Let's give attention now to God's word from Genesis chapter 18. And the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on, since you have gone to your servant. So they said, Do as you have said. And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, Quick, three sieves of fine flour. Knead it and make cakes. Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf tender and good and gave it to a young man who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, She is in the tent. The Lord said, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, after I am worn out and my Lord is old, shall I have pleasure? The Lord said to Abraham, why did Sarah laugh and say, shall I indeed bear a child now that I am old? Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time, I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son. But Sarah denied it, saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. And he said, No, but you did laugh. And may God, the living God, impress upon our hearts and our minds today the truth of his word. Amen. What do you think of when you hear the term, the phrase, the gift of hospitality? And maybe better, who do you think of when you hear that phrase? Let me tell you a couple stories about hospitality. The first is Lorraine. Lorraine was the wife of the area Young Life director in the town where I went to college and was a volunteer leader myself. Lorraine and her family lived in a very small house, and all of the furnishings of the home must have been given by someone, maybe even picked up along the curb, you know what I mean. And yet, Lorraine's house was always open, and any time you showed up, and this is what we loved as college students, there was always food. Lorraine had a warm smile and a listening ear. The next example. I've been in homes that were big enough to fit a couple of Lorraine's house inside of them. They were that large. There were pictures of US presidents on the wall, not the kind you buy at a store or get at a rally, but the kind of personal photos that you get when you actually hang out with United States presidents. The furniture was fit to be in a museum. And though you wanted to sit on it, you thought that just sitting on it somehow would kind of taint it and make it less valuable. Which of these stories represent hospitality? Maybe a trick question. They both do. I know the stories of both of those families. But the point is this. Hospitality is not defined by the decor of a home. Hospitality is not defined by the spread of food. that you can provide. Hospitality we see in the Bible and throughout the Bible is defined by an open heart and open arms to be mindful of others and to include others, especially those who might be forgotten. Hospitality is important in the Bible. The Israelites were told to include outsiders in their festivals. even the most sacred of their festivals were to be open and to include the foreigner. Why? Because they had received the hospitality of God. They had been welcomed in, not because of who they are and how great they were, but simply by the grace of the Lord. In the New Testament, we hear that officers of the church who are described as having really but a few essential, essential qualities, one of which is the gift of hospitality. We read that in 1 Timothy chapter 3. So it is important. And in our passage today, we see hospitality highlighted from two different angles. First, we're going to see the godly hospitality in the example of Abraham and really the household of Abraham. And then we're going to see hospitality from a different angle, from the hospitality of God that reaches out and includes Sarah. Let's look at the first, the godly hospitality of Abraham's household. Abraham at this time is a wealthy man, and yet he has a remarkable hospitality and shows that in our passage. Notice verse 1. The Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he, Abraham, sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham, by the way, is still in a tent. He is wealthy. He has a large household, lots of livestock of different type. But he's a nomad. He is a wandering herdsman. Lot, his nephew by contrast, lives in a home in a city. going to see next week by contrast the way that Lot received guests, the same guests that showed up at his door. So there is Abraham at the tent and starting at verse 2 it says, he lifted up his eyes and looked and behold three men were standing in front of him. When Abraham saw them he ran from the tent door to meet them, bowed himself to the earth and said, O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. So Abraham is quick to greet these travelers. Does he know this is God and apparently two angels? He bows down to them, he quickly calls one of them Lord, and he waits on them. But it's important to know that hospitality is one of the very most important qualities of the ancient Near East. In fact, it still is true today. We might think in our culture, and if I were to ask you, what is the best quality you want in a person? What characteristic would you like to be known for? Many people would probably say things like, maybe, integrity. I'm true to my word. Or maybe something like industriousness. I'm hardworking and responsible. But here, the primary hallmark of character is hospitality and welcoming the strangers. So it may be that we don't know who these characters are and that Abraham, at this point, does not know who they are. There's a passage in Hebrews about showing hospitality to strangers because you might be entertaining angels. And it very well might refer back to this very account of Abraham. Whoever Abraham believes these guests to be, he provides great hospitality. He says to them, in verses 4 and 5, Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet. Rest yourselves under the tree, while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves. And after that, you may pass on, since you have come to your servant." Traveling in the heat of the day in a dusty part of the world, a little water is going to be just the thing, isn't it? Likewise, resting in the shade, and Abraham says, let me just bring a little food, right? Why would he say that? He knows he's going to prepare something much more substantial. Well, you say, look, if you tell a guest, hey, let's have a big feast. And what are they more likely to say? No, don't bother, don't bother. So Abraham even here is helping them accept and receive the gift of hospitality. And Abraham certainly is going to go out of his way. Notice verses 7 and 8. Abraham went quickly, and just the urgency through all this, he went quickly to the tent, to Sarah, and said, Quick, three seas of fine flour. Knead it and make cakes. And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, gave it to a young man who prepared it quickly. Then he took curds and milk and the calf he had prepared and set it before them. And Abraham stood by them under the tree while they ate. Three sieves of flour. You've used that, right? There's a measurement before. without looking at your Bible notes or whatever. This is maybe something like 40 pounds of flour. This is enough to feed a small army, maybe even a not so small army. And this is the best of flour, the fine flour. And Abraham goes and gets the finest calf and has it prepared along with other delicacies. And then what does he do? He waits on them. Father Abraham, elderly distinguished man, running. Giving, serving. Abraham does all this still likely not knowing who they are. But here's the point, the mark of true hospitality. Hospitality is not entertaining royalty. It's entertaining and caring for the ordinary. What did we hear in our New Testament passage? Jesus said, in as much as you do it to the least of these, you have done it to me. Now think about that. As much as you've done it to the least of these, that's hospitality. You've done it to me. So genuine hospitality honors the Lord. And get this, it connects you to the Lord. It makes you closer to him. Now, entertaining family and friends is fine. It's important. But the mark, what we're talking about, the mark of hospitality is caring for those who are easy to overlook, who can't repay, who won't provide any benefit in return. Who is that? It might be the newcomer. It might be the person not quite fitting in. It might be the young. It might be the old. What does it look like? It might be an open home to invite them in. It might be a warm smile and a sincere question to draw them out. It might be a visit to them if they can't get out. Even if you want to hold on to the notion that Abraham knew right from the start that this was the Lord and two angels flanking him, and that might be the case. There's another part of the story that really reveals the great hospitality of Abraham. You know what it is? It's clear. They have done this before. They have. Abraham's household has done this before. Nobody asked the obvious question, why are you preparing food for an army when there's three people here? No one says, why are you getting the choicest calf? No one says, I really wanted to save that fine flower for the special celebration we were going to have with our family or with our special friends, or I wanted to impress someone with that fine flower. No one says, Father Abraham, why are you serving? Why? Because they've done it before. This is a, get this, this is a household seasoned in hospitality. This is a home where caring for others, especially the outsiders, the one overlooked, the least of these, as Jesus put it, is ingrained in the practices and in the mindset of the people there. And I want to ask you, wouldn't that be a great value to instill in your home? Again, not because of the condition of your house, not because, you know, you can impress people with the food you prepare, but because of concern. Because you see, you recognize those that are maybe being forgotten. And you are willing to reach out. Again, you may not be able, you may not be the one that is always having your home open. But you have a smile, right? I think. You have ears to listen. You have a voice to speak. Hey, it's great if you can open your home, too. But even if you can't, this isn't about personality types. This isn't, again, about household decorations. This is about a mindset to receive and connect with those that otherwise might not be received. So that's the hospitality Abraham exemplifies. But the passage continues and we see another hospitality, similar but a different angle entirely, and that is the hospitality of God. The guests finally speak, but they don't focus on Abraham, the one right in front of them. Notice verse 9. They, the guests, said to Abraham, where is Sarah your wife? And Abraham said, she is in the tent. Now at this point, it is clear these are no ordinary guests. Why? Because it would be highly, highly improper for a stranger to address a woman, the woman of the house, by name. And more than that, how would they know her name? So we see these are more than ordinary guests. And we see, we see, why is this visit taking place? This is going to have as much to do with Sarah. God's appeared to Abraham a lot by this point, hasn't he? And he's spoken to Abraham directly. He's given him ceremonies and signs of the covenant and done all kinds of drama. But now, but now the Lord is connecting, reaching out to Sarah. Well, knowing that Sarah can hear what he's saying, the Lord continues, verses 10 and 11. The Lord said, I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah, your wife, shall have a son. Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now, Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Abraham and Sarah are old. They are advanced in years, as if saying they're old didn't cover that already. And the way of women had ceased with Sarah. Sarah was no longer biologically able to conceive because of her season of life. But that promise given before to Abraham is now said directly to her. She will have a son. And how does she respond? Verse 12, so Sarah laughed to herself, saying, after I am worn out and my Lord is old, shall I have pleasure? Sarah laughs at the prospect of having a child. Is it a chuckle? Is it a snicker? The Bible says she laughed to herself. It might have been barely audible, but God knows. Now, for comparison's sake, we read not long ago, Abraham fell down laughing at the promise of Sarah having a child. And he's not called out for his laughter, right? Why? Why is Sarah singled out? If you go back to the flow of Genesis, we see Abraham is already regarded as a believer. He believed God's promise. We read in Genesis 15, verse 6. God made the promise of him becoming a great nation and bringing a blessing to all the earth. At that point, the Bible says, actually reflects our catechism question today, the Bible says it was counted to him as righteousness. So Abraham laughed, maybe with still some lingering doubts, and that can happen with Or perhaps at the sheer craziness of the idea. But Abraham is a believer saved by grace. He's trusting the promises of God. He's already been declared righteous. Sarah's laugh, even though much more subtle, is really a lack of faith laugh. There's an important statement associated with her snicker. She said, remember again, I am worn out and my Lord is old. Shall I have pleasure? And going back to what we had thought of before earlier in looking at Genesis, the culture of the time where Sarah lived, the worth of a woman, her hope, her security, her very identity is all tied up in having children. And Sarah knows she's not lived up to that expectation, has she? What has she done? In her mind, she's failed. She's failed herself. She's failed her husband, Abraham. She says she is worn out. Such a sad word. It's the word used for shoes or articles of clothing that no longer have value, no longer have purpose, no longer have appeal. And then she adds, shall I have pleasure? Do you see what she's saying? Do you see how she sees herself? She is unlovely. Who would want her? She's unworthy. She's probably thought that for a long time. And it's likely that the relationship between Abraham and Sarah has not been one of closeness and tenderness. It's not just her age and biological condition. It is her self-understanding. It is the relational condition between her and her husband. Do you think God knows how Sarah feels? Do you think He cares? Well, He does know and He does care. doing something. The whole point of the flow of this story. This is the welcome of God for Sarah. This is the hospitality of God as God comes to her. God comes to her not in the dark of night with thunder and roaring like God came to Abraham in Genesis 15. He does not show his faithfulness by cutting animal carcasses in half and parading through them. as he did to Abraham in Genesis 17. No, God comes to Sarah in the light of day, in the quiet of the afternoon. He comes to Sarah as a stranger, as a person who could easily be just overlooked as another wandering traveler. He comes to her and he asks questions, right? He asked, where is Sarah? He asked, why did she laugh? And now another question. Verse 14, is anything too hard for the Lord? And God continues at the appointed time, I will return to you about this time next year and Sarah shall have a son. That passage really should be translated, it's the word we've been thinking about today, is anything too wonderful for the Lord? That word hard or difficult more often than not in the Bible is translated wondrous, right? Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? Our call to worship, 1 Chronicles 16 verse 9, sing to him, sing praise to him, tell of all his wonderful works. That's the word here translated hard. Psalm 91, I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart. I will recount all your wonderful deeds. God is saying, is anything too difficult for me? No, because I have the power to do it. But also, is anything too wonderful for me? And the answer is no, because I have the care and I have the love and compassion to do it. And something wonderful happens to Sarah. She changes. She changes. This is a wonderful, wondrous miracle. She becomes biologically able to have children. We don't know how it happened. We don't know all it entailed. But it happened, and there are other changes in her and how she is perceived as well. One of the most remarkable passages of the Bible, I think, Genesis chapter 20. A few chapters later, but within the course of a year, describes something that sounds actually familiar to us. Because Abraham, once again, introduces Sarah, not as his wife, but as what? His sister. He does it again and he says this to a ruler named Abimelech. And Abimelech takes Sarah in and God has to intervene to stop anything from happening. Do you see it? A woman who regarded herself as worn out, unworthy, undesirable has to be rescued from the arms of another man. Apparently Abraham stopped regarding Sarah as worn out. And a wonderful union of husband and wife occurs. And then a son is born. It truly is wonderful. There is the birth of a child. But don't miss it. There is also the rebirth of a marriage. There's the rebirth of a woman's understanding of herself and her identity. There is the rebirth of faith and her becoming a child of God. The Bible describes Sarah and what happens here as an act of faith. Hebrews 11, verse 11, notice carefully. By faith, Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him, that would be God, faithful, who had promised. Notice that, and what an interesting way to say it. Sarah received power to conceive. She didn't simply conceive by faith, but she received power, think of it, she received power, the capacity that was necessary for her to have those biological changes to ultimately conceive. And that happened by faith. Because she looked to God who is faithful and trusted him. What does that mean? Why is this the hospitality of God? Because she was not forgotten. She was not outside the plan of God. Dear friend, Her very struggle, the very point at which she thought she was useless became the way God used her the most and is a message to you and to the world today. Is anything too wonderful for God? He does have the power to do it. He has the care and compassion to do it. The wonders of God is how He sees you right now. He sees you, and He understands your struggle. He knows the question. He knows the snicker. He knows the way you may feel, unlovely, unworthy, unusable. And He has come to you, to you. Not in the thunder of a dark night with terror, but he has come to you in a still, small voice. He has come to you in a child, born in a small town, with no power, no provision, who needed himself the hospitality of a poor couple to take him in and care for him. and he walked the way of suffering. He experienced the rejection of others. They looked down on him. They regarded him as unworthy, unlovely, unusable. But he did this all for you, so that you could know that he cares for you, that he could come alongside of you, with compassion and encouragement to welcome you into his eternal family. And he prepared a meal for his friends and fellow travelers to feed us and to remind us of his friendship. This is God's hospitality. Do you see? His name is Jesus. Jesus is the welcome of God for you. Wayward traveler, dusty and dry, overlooked, he sees you, he welcomes you, and he extends to you the call to come as you believe in him. And through that same welcome, to love and care. and extend the welcoming hospitality of God to all. May it be so, and may it be for His glory. Amen.